Here’s your chance to learn what lies at the bottom of the Mediterranean!

The year is 241 BCE: two cultures clash in a raging battle off the coast of Sicily in a struggle for dominance over the Mediterranean Sea. The Roman Republic meets the mighty Carthaginian Empire at the end of the First Punic War. Until recently, the story of this critical naval battle was solely understood through the words of ancient scholars. But on Wednesday, October 2, you are invited to hear nautical archaeologist Dr. Jeffrey Royal describe the amazing discoveries he and his team have found at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea – discoveries that are reshaping our understanding of Rome’s triumphant takeover of the Mediterranean region in the third century BCE.

Dr. Jeffrey Royal will present a lecture, Naval Warfare in the 3rd Century BCE: Warships, Rams, and Tactics, on Wednesday, October 2nd, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. at Wellesley College, Pendleton Hall West 212. The event is hosted by the Archaeological Institute of America. It is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the Founders Hall Lot: http://web.wellesley.edu/map.

Dr. Jeffrey Royal is Director of the RPM Nautical Foundation, and is affiliated with the Program in Nautical Studies at East Carolina University. He holds his degrees from Texas A&M University (Ph.D.), the University of South Carolina and the University of North Carolina. He is Director and Co-Director of archaeological projects (in Tunisia, Croatia, Montenegro and Albania, among others), and his current research interests include nautical warfare of the Mediterranean (4th to 1st century BCE), Greco-Roman trade along the Illyrian coast, and the development of ship construction in Roman and late Antique periods. Dr. Royal holds the prestigious McCann/Taggart Lectureship in Underwater Archaeology for 2013-2014.